NASA

Sally Ride, first US woman in space, dies at 61

NASA confirmed her death Monday afternoon and President Barack Obama called her a national hero. Her office in San Diego said she died of pancreatic cancer.

By Associated Press , July 23, 2012

NASA builds menu for planned Mars mission in 2030's

Through a labyrinth of hallways deep inside a 1960s-era building that has housed research that dates back to the early years of U.S. space travel, a group of scientists in white coats is stirring, mixing, measuring, brushing and, most important, tasting the end result of their cooking.

By Ramit Plushnick-Masti , July 17, 2012

Trailer hauling NASA telescope from Minnesota found near Dallas

A trailer that went missing while hauling a NASA-funded telescope from Minnesota has reached its destination in East Texas. A spokeswoman for Copeland Trucking says the trailer and undamaged telescope arrived Thursday at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility near Palestine.

By Associated Press , May 31, 2012

Dragon arrives at space station in historic 1st

The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station for a historic docking Friday, captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm. It succeeded in making the first commercial delivery into the cosmos.

By Marcia Dunn , May 25, 2012

Space shuttle Discovery salutes nation's capital

The space shuttle Discovery soared around the Washington Monument, the White House and the Capitol in a high-flying salute to the nation's capital. The shuttle-jet combo was set to land at Dulles International Airport. On Thursday, it will be towed to its permanent installation at the Smithsonian's annex in northern Virginia.

By Seth Borenstein , April 17, 2012

NASA considering space station for dry run to Mars

It would be patterned after Russia's mock flight to Mars that lasted 520 days at a Moscow research center. Six men were involved in that study, which ended late last year. They were locked in a steel capsule.

By Marcia Dunn , March 20, 2012

Man dedicates his life to finding missing 'moon rocks'

“I hate incompetence,” Joseph Gutheinz said. He was in his Houston-area law office, seated at a desk adorned with a silver-and-black globe labeled “moon rock hunter.” It irks Gutheinz, an Army veteran, retired NASA investigator and the son of Camp Pendleton Marines, that authorities have allowed hundreds of lunar rocks to disappear or fall into the hands of businessmen, dictators and thieves. NASA isn’t responsible for the rocks given away to states and foreign governments, and it’s those bits of lunar debris that have consumed Gutheinz’s attention for years. He wants to know where they are, and he wants to bring them home.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske , February 12, 2012

5-time NASA shuttle astronaut Janice Voss dies of cancer at 55

NASA astronaut Janice Voss first worked for the space agency as a teenager and flew five shuttle missions in seven years.

By Associated Press , February 08, 2012

Man who warned of equipment quirk before Challenger disaster dies

Roger Boisjoly, who died at 73, had written an ominous memo to his supervisors at Morton Thiokol six months before the shuttle launched on Jan. 28, 1986. He told the company that cold weather could compromise the seals connecting sections of the rocket boosters they manufactured. Boisjoly and four other engineers pleaded with supervisors for a delay the night before the launch, as temperatures dipped below freezing.

By Associated Press , February 07, 2012

Scientists: Rocks found in Morocco fell to Earth from Mars

Former NASA chief: 'It's Christmas in January'
This is only the fifth time in history scientists have chemically confirmed Martian meteorites that people witnessed falling. This also is an important and unique opportunity for scientists trying to learn about Mars' potential for life; so far, no NASA or Russian spacecraft has returned bits of Mars.

By Seth Borenstein , January 17, 2012

NASA's Mars rover on course for August landing

Engineers closely tracked the one-ton rover nicknamed Curiosity, which has been cruising along since rocketing from Earth last November. The firing of its eight thruster engines is the most important task Curiosity will perform during its 352-million-mile flight to the red planet, but it's not unprecedented. Previous robotic explorers have had to adjust their paths several times en route to landing.

By Alicia Chang , January 11, 2012

NASA questions Apollo 13 commander’s sale of list

Checklist from doomed mission sold for more than $388,000
NASA is questioning whether Apollo 13 commander James Lovell has the right to sell a 70-page checklist from the flight that includes his handwritten calculations that were crucial in guiding the damaged spacecraft back to Earth.

By Curt Anderson , January 06, 2012

NASA marks 2012 with twin probes in moon orbit

NASA kicked off the new year with a pair of probes circling the moon in the latest mission to understand how Earth’s closest neighbor formed.

By Alicia Chang , January 01, 2012

Twin probes to circle moon to study gravity field

The moon has come a long way since Galileo first peered at it through a telescope. Unmanned probes have circled around it and landed on its surface. Twelve American astronauts have walked on it. And lunar rocks and soil have been hauled back from it.

By Alicia Chang , December 26, 2011

NASA spacecraft beams back close-up images of asteroid

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has been a fervent photographer, snapping more than 10,000 pictures of the asteroid Vesta since it slipped into orbit around the giant space rock last summer. The views were taken from a distance away — until now. The space agency released new images Wednesday of the hummocky surface as Dawn circled from an average altitude of 130 miles above the surface — the closest it'll get.

By Associated Press , December 21, 2011